NYON, Switzerland -- Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone and suspended
Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso face UEFA action for encroaching on
the pitch during the Champions League final.
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Simeone came on to the pitch twice during extra time of his teams 4-1
loss on Saturday, and confronted Real defender Raphael Varane who kicked
a ball toward the Atletico dugout after the last goal.
"After 4-1, to generate that type of situation made me upset," said
Simeone, who was sent to the stands by referee Bjorn Kuipers of the
Netherlands.
Xabi Alonso, who missed the match for receiving three yellow cards
during the competition, sprinted down the touchline after the final
whistle.
UEFA said their cases will be deal with at disciplinary hearings on July
17.
Both face suspensions from Champions League matches next season.
UEFA added that both clubs have been charged for receiving at least five
yellow cards during the match.
Seven Atletico players and five from Real were booked in an often
physical match.
Both clubs face additional fines for fans lighting fireworks inside the
stadium.
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. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia will have surgery on his left
shoulder this week and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
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Leverkusen said on Friday it signed Schmidt on a two-year contract.
He guided Red Bull Salzburg to the Austrian championship this season.NEW
YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets are so good at home now that even the Houston
Rockets cant beat them.
The Nets clinched a playoff berth by beating the Rockets at home for the
first time in 11 years, getting 32 points from Joe Johnson in a 105-96
victory on Tuesday night.
Shaun Livingston added 17 points for the Nets, who extended their home
winning streak to 14 games, longest in their NBA history and tops in the
league this season. They finished 18-12 overall against the Western
Conference.
"Weve just been playing and trying to protect home court. They came in
here and we try to send them on their way with a loss, and thats for
everybody," Livingston said. "It just happens to be weve been playing
good basketball against the West."
The Nets ended a 14-game skid against Houston with their first victory
in the series since March 13, 2006. The Nets hadnt defeated the Rockets
at home since March 31, 2003, when they were still playing in East
Rutherford, N.J.
The Nets also pulled within 1 1/2 games of Toronto and Chicago for the
No. 3 seed in the East and home-court advantage in the first round,
quite a change for a team that was so bad during its 10-21 start that
Johnson had trouble envisioning where it is right now.
"Honestly, I couldnt even see it," he said. "I kept saying to myself
eventually this is going to turn around, things are going to turn for
us. Eventually it did starting the new year. We were a different team,
our mindset was different and the way we played was different."
James Harden scored 26 points for Houston, which lost its second
straight following a five-game winning streak. Still without
Dwight Howard because of a sore left ankle, the Rockets shot just 38 per
cent from the field.
"We just missed some shots, missed some opportunities," Harden said of
the Rockets, also without starters Patrick Beverley and Terrence Jones.
"We let them get too comfortable early in the game. They got it going
and it was tough."
Harden was 16 of 16 from the free-throw line. Omer Asik had 12 points
and a career-high 23 rebounds while starting for Howard, while
Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsoons each added 16 points.
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The Nets held the NBAs second-highest scoring team 11 points below its
average and improved to 30-12 overall since Jan. 1. They havent lost at
Barclays Center in more than two months and make just a short trip
Wednesday to visit the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
"We know these games, even if you say they dont mean more, they mean a
lot more, I think, just because of the rivalry thats been formed," Nets
guard Deron Williams said.
Brooklyn had six players score in double figures in its third win in a
row overall. It was once again without starting centre Kevin Garnett
because of back spasms, as it was all March while going 12-4, as well as
key reserves Andrei Kirilenko (sprained left ankle) and Marcus Thornton
(back).
The Nets shot 59 per cent in the first quarter, getting 11 points from
Johnson in taking a 29-24 lead. Houston moved ahead for the first time
midway through the second, but Brooklyn put together an 11-0 spurt late
in the half and took a 54-51 edge into the break.
The Nets opened their largest lead when Johnsons 3-pointer made it 78-67
with 4:03 left in the third, but the Rockets were back within one
before Johnson nailed another 3 with 45 seconds remaining to send
Brooklyn to the fourth with an 83-79 advantage.
Brooklyn put it away midway through the fourth, re-opening an 11-point
lead on a questionable goaltending call that gave a basket to rookie
Jorge Gutierrez and earned Rockets coach Kevin McHale a technical foul
for arguing.
McHale was more frustrated with Houstons lack of ball movement.
"I dont know how (long) you have to play with somebody to throw the ball
to the open man," he said. "What, youve got to know him personally?"
NOTES: McHale said Howard had received another shot in the ankle, saying
there was mostly soft tissue inflammation that hopefully would calm
down. The All-Star centre has missed five of the last seven games. ...
Brooklyns Jason Kidd was the Eastern Conference coach of the month for
March, joining Chicagos Tom Thibodeau as the only coaches to win two
monthly awards in their rookie seasons. Kidd won for the first time for
January.
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